Graduated high school in 04, did 4yrs in the service. Got out and used the gi bill for a degree in diesel tech and within a month before graduation had a job with the railroad. My wife has a small business and we live within our means to have a house and her be able to stay home 95% of the time with our 8 month old. I had a solid 4yrs in the service to party and when I went to school at 23 I was focused on my studies unlike my 18yr old counterparts.
Yea I think we have a bad model throwing kids from 0 to 100 into adulthood in an instant. Tuition is an expensive price to pay for an 18 year old to work through how to be an adult and student at the same time. A couple years between high school and college to live on your own would be beneficial to a lot.
I know at 18 I didn't realize I was actually interested in learning the subject matter, I just viewed learning as something I had to do to get the degree.